Le monde des musicals

Prince of Broadway (2017-08-Samuel J Friedman Theatre-Broadway)

Type de série: Original Broadway
Théâtre: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (Broadway - Etats-Unis)
Durée : 2 mois
Nombre : 23 previews - 76 représentations
Première Preview : jeudi 03 août 2017
Première : jeudi 24 août 2017
Dernière : dimanche 29 octobre 2017
Mise en scène : Harold Prince •
Chorégraphie : Susan Stroman •
Producteur :
Avec : Chuck Cooper, Janet Dacal, Bryonha Marie Parham, Emily Skinner, Brandon Uranowitz, Kaley Ann Voorhees, Michael Xavier, Tony Yazbeck, and Karen Ziemba
Commentaires : No career on the Broadway stage can quite match up to Harold Prince's. With a record number of 21 Tony Awards under his belt, the acclaimed Broadway director and producer is celebrated in this Broadway premiere courtesy of the Manhattan Theatre Club. Hal truly is the Prince of Broadway!

The musical revue, which first premiered in Japan in 2015, brings together the crème de la crème of Broadway talent, re-imagining the classics that Mr. Prince brought to life over six decades of his illustrious career. It has been common practice in the music industry for decades for recording artists who have enjoyed enough longevity in the business to release “Greatest Hits” albums. After all, if you release enough studio albums, you’re bound to have enough beloved hits on there to justify the project. Well, now acclaimed Broadway director and producer Harold Prince is getting in on the act and has compiled a musical revue of theatrical gems from his unprecedented stage career.

With a cast of nine, comprised of musical theatre veterans and rising stars, each of them (whether male or female) takes a turn at breaking the fourth wall and speaking to us in Mr. Prince’s own words. They deliver insider anecdotes about his career choices as if they were channelling his spirit, signified all the while by them grasping Prince’s signature glasses in their hand or characteristically balancing them on top of their heads. These interludes sporadically appear between musical numbers that have become iconic and eternal in Broadway history.

Directed by Prince himself, with choreography and co-direction from fellow Broadway favorite Susan Stroman (a five-time Tony Award winner in her own right), the revue attempts to break away from the notion of being self-aggrandizing in that the cast members (as Prince) frequently remind us of the number of flops and negative reviews the director/producer has endured over the years. Indeed, at the beginning of the show an onslaught of show titles are projected onto the stage one after another as a kind of larger-than-life résumé and perhaps only the most ardent of Broadway aficionados would be comfortably familiar with every single title. But, of course, the household names are all there in all their shining glory and it is these that provide the musical content for this nostalgic evening of celebration.

The overture alone makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, beautifully arranged by Jason Robert Brown (who also provides the original song “Do the Work” for the curtain call). He has intricately woven together an exhilarating, musical patchwork quilt of all the standards we are about to experience (again), before we strap ourselves in for a rollercoaster ride through the decades. From West Side Story to She Loves Me, from Sondheim classics such as Follies, Company and Sweeney Todd to Lloyd Webber behemoths like Evita and The Phantom of the Opera, Hal has collaborated with them all... even Kander & Ebb are gloriously showcased here by Cabaret and Kiss of the Spiderwoman. The list goes on...

Highlights of the show include a heart-wrenching rendition of “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music by Emily Skinner and Bryonha Marie Parham’s show-stopping take on the title song from Cabaret, whilst Chuck Cooper gives a joyously playful version of Fiddler on the Roof’s “If I Were a Rich Man” and Michael Xavier hits it out of the park with “Being Alive” from Company. And Tony Award nominee Tony Yazbeck, who once again proves he belongs to the tap-dancing elite during “The Right Girl” from Follies.
Presse : "The frilly candy-box sampler... Is a name — even one as perfumed with success and creativity as Harold Prince — enough to hold together a show whose point of view seems to begin and end with the royal epithet of its title? Watching this production’s overtaxed ensemble perform vignettes from different musicals, in an oppressive succession of themed wigs and costumes, is like hearing a rushed raconteur drop name after famous name, without bothering to explain their significance." Ben Brantley for New York Times

"You couldn’t wish for a more ideal place than Broadway to honor Prince. But you could wish for a better, more illuminating show in which to do it... One can’t helped but be impressed by the scope and breadth — but at the same time feel left in the dark about Prince’s precise contributions." Joe Dziemianowicz for New York Daily News

"It’s a pleasant collection of beloved and familiar Broadway songs, but there isn’t much to it." Adam Feldman for Time Out New York

"An entertaining compilation, despite the shortage of context." David Rooney for Hollywood Reporter

"A sumptuous revue celebrating the 60-plus-years of legendary director-producer Harold Prince’s fabulous career. Watching the hits flash by, like diamonds on a necklace, is sure to make you cry – with tears of joy if you saw that particular show, and tears of regret if you missed it." Marilyn Stasio for Variety